An Altered Destiny
by Akatsuki Leader13
Summary: AU/Reach Spoilers. Noble Team met its destiny at Reach, but what if single event had played out differently? The Sequel is UP!


Yo everybody! Over the few days I've spent my free time alternating between writing this and playing Halo Reach. I must say that Bungie wanted to go out on a high note and so they did. The storyline of the game was absolutely amazing despite knowing how the battle is going to end.

**Warning: If you haven't finished Halo Reach's campaign, you may want to stop reading as this will contain spoilers.**

I started writing this after I first finished the campaign and originally it was going to be about the final mission of the game, Lone Wolf. But I started to realize that in the next couple of weeks, we're going to see some similar tributes to Noble Team and Noble Six. So I started to think, what if things had turned out differently? And this came out from that.

First up, here's what my Noble Six's armor looks like. For those of you who don't have Halo Reach, you should be able to find pictures of the armor components on the Halopedia wiki site.

Helmet: Mark V [B] UA  
Shoulders: HAZOP  
Chest: Tactical/LRP  
Knees: FJ/PARA  
Emblem: Black wolf over a white moon  
Primary Color: Sage green  
Secondary Color: Maroon

Now, I took some bits from both Halo Reach and the novel, the Fall of Reach. Of course, both accounts don't quite match up so I tried to blend them together as best as I could.

Disclaimer: I don't own Halo, Halo Reach or the Fall of Reach. All I own is my Noble Six.

Aszod Ship-Breaking Yard  
Planet Reach  
0622 Hours August 30, 2552

"Hunters!" a marine shouted as a pair of armored behemoths leaped from the hold of a Phantom.

The surviving six marines immediately opened fire the Hunters, harmlessly impacting the plates of their armor and shields while their dreaded cannons began to glow green.

"Run!" a sergeant shouted.

The soldiers frantically dove out of the way as the aliens fired their weapons. But two weren't fast enough and were killed instantly, their mangled, burnt bodies flying halfway across the landing area before crashing with a sickening crunch.

Suddenly, a 102mm HEAT rocket slammed into the back of one of the Hunters, killing it. At the sight of its dead bond brother, the other Hunter roared and spun around, its cannon glowing.

Noble Six fired off his last rocket as the Hunter fired it cannon. The instant the rocket left the launcher; Six dropped the weapon as he rolled out of the path of the green projectile. The Hunter wasn't so lucky. The rocket slammed into its chest. The Hunter's armored corpse collapsed in heap.

Six pulled his DMR from the magnetic strip on his back as two more Phantoms approached the area. Grunts and Jackals leap down the Covenant dropships, followed several of the Sangheili Minors and a Major.

The crimson armored Elite barked out an order in his alien tongue, pointing at Noble Six. Immediately the Grunts charged forward, the Jackals close behind. Six started sprinting backwards, lobbing a frag grenade at the clustered alien as they fired on him. Many of the diminutive aliens shriek and howled as they desperately tried to flee the explosive before it was too late.

_BOOM!_

In an instant, three Grunts and a Jackal were dead while the rest were exposed and vulnerable. Six fired his rifle as the Elites and a few of the further back Jackals fired their own weapons. A few more of the smaller aliens fell while the Spartan had taken some hits before pulling himself behind a stack of crates.

The Major shouted out more orders, forcing the smaller aliens back towards Six when he rushed out from his cover, heading for the back of the small building on the platform. The Grunts and Jackals raced after him, rounding the corner of the building and finding… nothing.

Something struck the back of a Jackal's head, causing it to squawk in surprise. A second later, the plasma grenade exploded, taking the alien and the rest of them with it.

The Elite Major let out a roar before he and his fellow Elites advanced towards the stack of crates Six was hiding behind. Six knew the hologram trick wouldn't work twice in a row. If he tried it, only a couple would go after it while the others would continue towards him. He was going to have to take them head on.

Diving out from behind his cover, Six threw his last plasma grenade as he fired off his DMR. The grenade hit the chest of one Elite as his bullets hit another nearby. The first Elite howled while the other leapt away from his doomed comrade.

The explosion obliterated the first alien, leaving behind bloody chunks of flesh and gore while the shields of the other Elite flared up and failed. Six finished it off with a trio of bullets to its head.

But as the Elite Minor collapsed, another leaped on Six, its plasma rifle slamming against his head. The Spartan staggered back, his spinning head as the shrill whistle of his armor's shield depletion warning filled his ears. Six managed to turn to the Elite, firing off a couple of shots, only to have the alien slap it from his hands before booting the human in the chest.

The Spartan slammed against a wall. What passed for a grin among the Sangheili race, spread across the mandibles of the warrior as he threw down his Plasma Rifle, activating the energy dagger built into its wrist armor. The Elite roared as it attempted to drive its dagger into Six's head. But the Spartan was faster, pulling his head to the side while drawing his own combat knife, slashing at the alien's head. However, just as he had dodged the dagger so too did the Elite, jumping back from Six.

For a moment, the two stood there, holding only their knives. Nearby stood the Major, intent on watching the duel play out. The Elite swung his dagger in a wide horizontal arc. Noble Six sidestepped the swing and countered with a slash to its arm, the blade bouncing the plate of its armor. Annoyed, the Elite backhanded him, sending Six crashing to the ground. Six looked up at the warrior, the energy dagger coming down on him. He quickly rolled his body, evading not one but three separate strikes until the Spartan came to a wall. The Elite let out a chuckle as it stood over Six's back.

Suddenly, Six spun around, a Needler in his left hand. The blue-clad Elite let out a surprised noise as fourteen pink needles pierced its chest. The crystalline rounds detonated, horribly shredding its body. The Elite hit the ground, letting out a few wet gurgles before it died.

Six climbed to his feet, discarding the spent Needler, his shields finally recharging. The Elite Major approached him slowly, firing its Plasma Repeater. With nothing more than a knife, the Spartan knew he wasn't going to for long. He took off running, looking for some cover or a usable weapon, the crimson Elite on his tail.

The Spartan sprinted up the steps onto a small landing platform hanging over the ravine. That where he spotted it, a discarded Concussion Rifle. Noble Six dove, grabbing the weapon and rolling across the ground. He pulled himself up onto his knees as the Elite reached the top of the stairs.

Six squeezed the trigger, launching two bolts of superheated plasma at the Covenant warrior. The Plasma slammed into the Elite tearing down its shields in a split-second before killing it.

"_Pillar of Autumn_, this is Noble Six," the Spartan said over the comm. "The landing site is clear for now. But I don't know for how much longer. You better get down here and pick up the package before more Covenant arrive."

"_Roger that Noble Six,"_ Captain Jacob Keyes replied. _"We're coming to you now."_

As a pair of Pelicans took off from one of the _Autumn's _hangers, Six took a moment to collect his DMR and slap in a fresh clip. While Phantoms and Banshees were flying overhead, most seemed to be heading elsewhere while those few that tried to approach were quickly taken down by Emile with the Onager Cannon that stood above the landing site.

The first of the Pelican came to a stop over the edge of the small landing pad, Captain Keyes and a squad of marines standing in the passenger hold. They quickly disembarked from the aircraft, the marines taking up a defensive position on the pad as Six put his DMR on the magnetic strip on his upper back before reaching for the AI storage device.

"Good to see you Spartan. Halsey assured me that I could count on you," Keyes said as he approached the Noble Team member.

"Not just me sir," Six replied, handing the package to the Captain.

Keyes took the storage device, studying it for a moment before looking up at the Spartan. "They'll be remembered," the man said, placing a hand on Six's shoulder.

The gray haired officer turned to reenter the Pelican when he froze halfway, staring up at the sky. "Cruiser, adjusting heading for the _Autumn_!" he shouted. "Noble Four, I need fire on that cruiser or we're not getting out of here, do you copy?"

"_You'll have your window sir,"_ Emile replied.

As Keyes and the marines boarded their aircraft, a pair of Phantoms entered the area. One of them opened fire on the second Pelican. The damaged dropship lost control, falling towards the Captain's Pelican but the pilot barely managed to swerve out of the way. Six dove to the ground as the falling Pelican flipped over, hitting the edge of the landing pad before sliding into the canyon bellow.

While Six climbed to his feet, one of the Phantoms flew up behind the magnetic cannon, where Emile was. The Spartan could only watch as his teammate blasted an Elite with his shotgun. As the dead alien hit the ground, the Spartan caught a glimpse of a light behind Noble Four. Instantly, Noble Six recognized what it was. "Emile! Behind you!" he shouted.

Acting solely on instinct, Emile rolled forward just as the Elite was about to strike, the blades of its sword narrowly missing the Spartan. As he rolled, Emile spun around, hitting the deck with his back while firing his shotgun. The Elite's shields flickered and died as the first shell impacted its body, the second and third tore through its armor and flesh, killing the alien instantly. _"Eat that!"_ the Spartan yelled as he stood up.

"Lieutenant, get aboard!" a sergeant shouted from the Pelican's hold, drawing Six back to where he was. "We have to get the hell out of here!"

The Spartan spun around to the aircraft but quickly glanced back up at the MAC cannon, back up at Emile.

"_Go Six! I got your back!" _the Spartan shouted as he fired on more Covenant soldiers.

"But-"

"_Don't worry about me. There's still plenty of Covenant left to kill here," _Emile replied. _"Go! And mark sure they don't ever forget Noble Team!"_

"I will," Noble Six said before climbing onto the Pelican. "Good luck and good hunting Emile."

The Noble Team assault specialist chuckled. _"Luck? Don't need it. After all, Spartans never die."_

Six nodded his head in agreement as the Pelican lifted off, heading the docked _Pillar of Autumn_. "Spartans never die."

Above them, the Covenant cruiser continued its steady advance towards the ship, more Phantoms and Banshees coming with it. Standing on the Pelican hatch, Six watched as Emile climbed back into the controls of the MAC cannon. The massive cannon moved into position, aiming straight at the warship.

"_This one's for Noble Team," _Emile said as the cannon fired.

There was a thundering boom as the MAC round slammed into the narrow center of the Covenant cruiser. Explosions tore through the craft's underbelly. The cruiser's engines started to fail and the warship began to descend into the ravine. It was no longer a threat to the _Autumn_.

Noble Six slumped against the side of the Pelican's hold as the aircraft entered for one of the _Pillar of Autumn's_ hangers. No, he wasn't Noble Six anymore. Noble Team was gone. Jorge, Kat and Carter were dead; Jun was off with Halsey somewhere. Maybe they'd make it off of Reach, maybe not. And Emile… well Emile wasn't going to be getting off of Reach, they both knew that.

Once again, he was the lone wolf, Lucas B312.

He reached into one of the pouches on the front of his armor and pulled out two dog tags, Jorge's and Kat's. The Spartan shook his head and clasped the tags in his fingers. He had never been much of a team player. It was one of the reasons he had been taken out of Beta Company two months prior to Operation: TORPEDO, which likely saved his life. For the past seven years, he had more or less operated by himself. And he had been fine with that. Other people just got in his way.

So they made him into what was more or less an assassin, a lone wolf killer, disposing of Insurrectionist groups that the UNSC could no longer deal with because of the war against the Covenant, and of course black-ops missions against the Covenant as well.

But these last few weeks on Reach, fighting as a part of Noble Team against the Covenant… well it was the first time in since Beta Company that Lucas had actually enjoyed working with a team. Of course, it had also been the first time since Beta that he had actually worked alongside other Spartans.

Now they were all gone, just like the rest of Beta Company. At that moment, it occurred to him that he was probably the last Spartan-III of Beta Company, perhaps one of the last Spartan-IIIs left. He had to admit, it was an odd feeling. Lucas had never considered his fellow Spartans family like some of the others did and he hadn't been particularly saddened by the outcome of Operation: TORPEDO. After the deaths of his parents, his only family, at the hands of the Covenant and his recruitment into the Spartan-III Program, he stopped shedding tears. Now for the first time since childhood, he almost felt like crying, for a team he had known for only four weeks. It was ridiculous and yet felt natural at the same time.

The Pelican shuttered slightly as the docking clamps attached themselves to aircraft, drawing Lucas from his thoughts.

"Alright Captain, we're docked," the female dropship pilot called out from the cockpit.

"Thanks for the ride Foe Hammer," Keyes replied, calling the pilot by her Call Sign.

"My pleasure sir."

Lucas glanced over at where Keyes was standing, stilling holding Halsey's AI. It was hard to believe that such a small thing had cost the lives of so many people. Carter, Emile, and dozens of marines and soldiers, just to get it to the _Autumn_. All because this AI had all of the Doctor's research on some non-Covenant, alien ruins beneath Reach.

Dr. Halsey's words echoed in his mind. _"Mankind is outmatched. When Reach falls, and it will fall, our annihilation is all but certain; unless we can glean from this artifact a defense against the Covenant, a game changer."_

The Spartan shook his head before disembarking from the Pelican with Keyes and the marines. Ancient alien mumbo jumbo. That was supposed to turn the tide of war? It seemed more like a joke than anything else. But orders were orders and Noble Team carried it out to the end.

Speaking of which…

Lucas turned to Keyes. "Captain, permission to attempt to contact my commanding officer, Colonel Holland," he asked. "I would like to let him know of Noble Team's status."

"Permission granted," the older man said with a nod. "Come with me to the Bridge. We'll see if we can get a hold of him."

"Thank you sir."

* * *

A short while later, the Captain and the Lieutenant stepped onto the Bridge, ignoring the looks the crew member were giving the fully armored Spartan. "Lieutenant Dominique here will help you try to contact your superior officer," Keyes said, gesturing towards the Comm Station and the officer manning it.

"Thank you sir," Lucas replied with a slight nod of his head before he headed to the station.

As he reached the Comm Station, Lieutenant Dominique looked up at him, keeping his expression neutral. Lucas preferred it over the awestruck looks he was getting from much of the crew. "Can you get a secure line with CASTLE Base?" he asked.

"I'll try, but the comm lines are a mess right now," Dominique replied, typing away. "Do you have a specific channel you want me to try?"

"Yes, there's a certain channel. I'll need to type it in."

The Junior Officer nodded and backed away from the console, allowing him access to it. Lucas's armored fingers danced across the console, keying in the primary channel Colonel Holland used for communicating with Noble Team. "Noble Actual, this is Lieutenant Sierra three-one-two of Noble Team. Authorization Number: delta-epsilon-two-zero-four-one-theta," he said over the comm. "Noble Actual, please respond."

All he received was static and grabbled fragments of radio chatter. "Colonel Holland, this Noble Six. Do you read me?" he continued.

"_Lieutenant…this…land… What…Noble…status…"_ call a weak and static filled response. _"Have you…mission? …is Carter…"_

It was Holland. Lucas felt a little relived to hear the Colonel's voice. "Sir, the mission has been completed. The rest of Noble Team is gone sir," he answered. "I'm currently abroad the _Pillar of Autumn_."

More static came out. _"…Six…you read? Noble…"_

The signal was getting worse. Lucas couldn't even be sure if the Colonel had even heard him. "Noble Actual, say again. I do not read you."

All he got this time was static. The Spartan turned to the Comm Officer. "Can you clear it up?" he asked.

Dominique studied his console and typed in a few commands before shaking his head. "I'm sorry. We're getting too much interference and comm chatter," he replied.

Lucas turned away from the station. "I understand."

With no possibility of getting in touch with his Commanding Officer, there was little else the Spartan could do at the moment. Moving to the front of the Bridge, he watched the crew finish their final preparations before takeoff when the holographic projector activated. A short haired, purple woman appeared with lines of data scrolling across her body. He had caught a glimpse of it before. It was Halsey's AI. "Ah Lieutenant, I was hoping that I'd get a chance to thank you for bringing me to the _Autumn_," she said with a smile, her voice similar to that of Dr. Halsey's.

"It was a team effort," Lucas truthfully replied.

"That's why both you and your team have my thanks," the AI commented. "My name is Cortana."

"Spartan B312."

Cortana bowed her head. "I know, I've read your file. All of it."

The Spartan shrugged in response. He was well aware that his own file was heavily classified and redacted. Considering what was on his file, top secret black-ops missions, the Saber Program and more than a few operations where he had been authorized to carry out actions that bordered on criminal, it was no surprise that there was so much black ink. Though he had been surprised when the Commander revealed that he had seen his uncensored file.

"Cortana, are we ready for takeoff?" Captain Keyes asked, ending their conversation.

The hologram turned to the senior officer. "Yes Captain. The _Autumn_ is ready to takeoff."

"Alright then." Keyes put two fingers up to his right ear. "All hands, this is the Captain, the _Autumn_ is taking off. All stations prepare for cast-off," he said, his voice echoing over the intercom. Removing the fingers from his ear, Keyes turned to the helmsmen. "Ensign Lovell, bring the engines up to full power. Lieutenant Hall, disengage the docking clamps and activate the boosters."

The _Pillar of Autumn_ began to rock as its engines powered up. The docking arms that were holding the ship released and dropped down as the eight boosters attached to the underbelly of _Autumn _ignited. The warship started to gain altitude as it cleared the ship-breaking yard. The _Autumn _turned, the bow of the ship angling upwards. A few minutes after the ship had launched, the booster were disengaged, falling from the hull as it continued to fly upwards. Soon, the _Autumn_ was rocking worse than before as it started breaking through the atmosphere.

* * *

Lucas stared out the viewport of the _Autumn's _Bridge. As bad as the battle on Reach's surface had been, the battle in orbit had been far worse. Dozens upon dozens of shattered UNSC ships and orbital stations drifted above Reach. Nearby, the still functioning UNSC warships were giving a last, valiant effort against the numerically superior Covenant fleet. But it wouldn't be enough.

Reach was finished.

"Hall, do you have the signal from Blue Team?" Keyes asked.

"Yes Captain," Lieutenant Hall replied. "They're still at Reach Station Gamma."

"How close are we to it?"

"Close sir. Very close," the officer answered. "We're less than two minutes from the rendezvous position."

"Dominique, open up a channel."

"Channel open sir."

"Master Chief, come in," Keyes said over the channel. "The _Pillar of Autumn _will be at rendezvous position in one minute."

"_We're ready Captain,"_ came the reply.

* * *

Lucas watched as a Spartan in a blood stained, green Mark V MJOLNIR Armor entered the Bridge. The man paused, glancing at the Spartan-III for a moment before continuing to the Captain. "Reporting for debriefing sir," the Spartan said as he saluted Keyes.

Keyes returned the salute. "The NAV database was destroyed?" he inquired.

The Spartan nodded his head. "Sir, I would have not left if my mission was incomplete."

"Of course Master Chief," the Captain said.

Master Chief Petty Officer 117, the Commanding Officer of the Spartan-IIs. The records and operational history of the Spartan-IIs had been required reading during training and of all of them, the Master Chief was the best of them all. And Lucas had to admit, when he was a kid in Boot Camp, Spartan 117 was the closest thing he had to a hero.

"Sir, may I ask that you scan for active FOF tags in the region?" the Chief asked. "I lost the man on the station. He may be floating out there… somewhere."

Keyes turned to his Operations Officer. "Lieutenant Hall?"

"Scanning," the officer replied. After half a minute, she shook her head.

"I see…" the Master Chief said, pausing for a moment. "Sir, when will the _Pillar of Autumn_ rendezvous with my planetside team?"

The Captain turned from the Spartan, staring out into space. "We won't be picking them up," he quietly answered. "They were overrun by Covenant forces. They never made orbit and we've lost contact with them."

"Then I would like permission to take a dropship and retrieve them sir," the Chief responded almost immediately.

Lucas took a step towards the pair. "Sir, permission to accompany the Master Chief on the retrieval mission," he added.

"Request denied," Keyes said, turning back to the Spartans. "We still have a mission to perform. And we cannot remain in this system much longer."

"Captain, six Covenant frigates are inbound on an intercept course," Cortana said, drawing them from the conversation.

"Evasive maneuvers Cortana," the Captain ordered. "Prepare the Slipspace generators and get me an appropriate randomized exit vector."

"Aye sir," the AI replied as numbers and symbols began to rapidly move across her body.

As the ship began to accelerate, the two Spartans quickly found themselves out of place among the frenetic activities of the crew. The battle was over. The Covenant were already beginning to glass the surface of Reach. There was nothing they could do to change that.

The Master Chief turned to the other Spartan. "Who exactly are you?" he asked. "You're a Spartan but I don't recognize your voice."

"Spartan B312 sir," Lucas replied. "And that's all I can say about myself and where I came from."

While the Spartan-II Program had gone public, barring some of the more sensitive matters of the Program, the Spartan-III Program was an ONI Black-Op Program. If the Master Chief didn't know about it, he wasn't cleared to know. To the common soldiers, a Spartan was a Spartan, but that wouldn't work for a Spartan who had trained and fought alongside what was supposedly all of the other Spartans.

"The Lieutenant and his team were responsible for bringing me abroad the _Autumn_," Cortana added.

The Chief glanced at the AI and then back at the other Spartan. "His team?"

"Noble Team sir," Lucas answered. "We've been fighting on Reach since the very beginning of the battle. We were the ones to discover the initial Covenant strike force on the planet."

The Spartan-II gave no outward expression as to what he was thinking. "Where's the rest of your team?"

Lucas's hand began to rise up towards one of the pouches on his armor but stopped himself halfway. "I'm the only one left sir."

For a moment, the Master Chief didn't say anything. "You know Lieutenant; I should be the one calling you sir, sir."

Lucas shrugged. He was correct. The Spartan-III did actually outrank his predecessor, but the Master Chief had been a soldier before Lucas had even been born. That's why he called him sir. His experience and his record demanded it.

And now they were two of the few remaining, if not the only, Spartans left on active duty. Their teammates and comrades were all dead or soon would be. Reach, the Crown Jewel of the Colonies, the Great Fortress in the Stars, the Shield of Earth, was gone.

But the two of them were still alive, and they still had plenty of fight left in them.

* * *

Now, I don't want people to accuse me of being one of those who hated Reach's ending because I'm not. I loved the ending. It felt right to end the game with Noble Six fighting to his last breath. This is just my idea of an alternate ending to the game. And depending on the response, I may do the entire Halo trilogy from Noble Six's point of view. Maybe even a bit of the novel, Halo: First Strike if I become particularly ambitious.

As always, hit that button and tell me what you think.


End file.
